Clinton Township

Township adds full-time code enforcement officer

By Nico Rubello
C & G Staff Writer

CLINTON TOWNSHIP —As a general rule, warmer weather typically means an increase in the number of zoning code violations.

To help enforce its codes, Clinton Township recently approved the hire of former police dispatch shift supervisor David Popovich as the township’s new code enforcement officer.

In Clinton Township, the responsibilities of code enforcement were previously performed as a secondary function of its five building inspectors, said township Building Superintendent Mike Gentry. But the addition of a 40-hour-per-week code enforcement officer will help free up those inspectors to focus on their primary duty of performing building inspections, he added.

The township approved the code enforcement officer position at an annual salary of $54,039. As a code enforcement officer, Popovich’s duties could include responding to a number of different code violations, including, but not limited to, unpermitted signs, lawns that have been left uncut for too long, property blight and unpermitted roofing projects.

“The main goal of ordinance enforcement is compliance,” Gentry said. “We’re not looking for violations or tickets.”

Gentry said Popovich’s experience working for more than two decades as a police dispatcher will serve him well on the position. He is detail-oriented, capable of working well with a diverse group of people and able to keep calm under pressure, Gentry added.